成簇规则间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)技术目前广泛应用于生命医学领域的基础研究及临床应用研究。由于载体在CRISPR/Cas9...成簇规则间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)技术目前广泛应用于生命医学领域的基础研究及临床应用研究。由于载体在CRISPR/Cas9技术中发挥了重要的作用,如何进一步开发和优化载体系统具有重要的意义。传统的载体大多以病毒载体为主,其递送的效率高,但亦存在插入片段的大小有限、免疫反应、致癌、难以大规模生产甚至脱靶等缺陷;而非病毒纳米载体在一定程度上可解决基因编辑过程中由病毒载体所带来的潜在毒性和容量限制等问题,可能具有更广阔的应用前景。本文主要综述了目前用于CRISPR/Cas9系统递送的非病毒纳米载体,探讨了非病毒纳米载体在递送CRISPR/Cas9系统时可能遇到的主要困难,提出了相应的解决方案和策略,以期为基因治疗和药物研发提供新的参考依据。展开更多
规律间隔成簇短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因编辑技术作为一项基因工程领域革新式的技术,为癌症、遗传性疾病及感染...规律间隔成簇短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因编辑技术作为一项基因工程领域革新式的技术,为癌症、遗传性疾病及感染性疾病等多种重大疾病的治疗提供了极大的帮助.但如何在特定细胞和组织中实现时空调控的精准基因编辑,进而避免脱靶效应,依然是该技术在临床转化领域面临的重要挑战.近年来,通过化学分子和反应实现对CRISPR/Cas9活性的调控已经成为提升这项基因编辑技术效率的重要手段之一.本文综合评述了一些最近报道的化学调控CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑的方法,并对其在临床医学领域的应用前景进行了展望.展开更多
成簇的规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9〔clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9),CRISPR/Cas9〕是一种新兴的基因编辑技术,与以前的三大基因编辑技术——归巢核...成簇的规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9〔clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9),CRISPR/Cas9〕是一种新兴的基因编辑技术,与以前的三大基因编辑技术——归巢核酸内切酶、锌指核酸酶和转录激活因子样效应物核酸酶技术相比,其在靶向特异性、操作简便性、治疗彻底性、应用广泛性等方面具有更大的优势和发展潜力。艾滋病、乙型肝炎、疟疾等感染性疾病的治疗一直是医学上的重大难题,科学家正努力尝试利用CRISPR/Cas9技术解决这些医学难题。本文主要综述了CRISPR/Cas9技术在这些感染性疾病中应用的研究进展。展开更多
成簇的规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9〔clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9),CRISPR/Cas9〕基因编辑技术的发现源于真细菌和古细菌中CRISPR/Cas系统介导的...成簇的规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9〔clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9),CRISPR/Cas9〕基因编辑技术的发现源于真细菌和古细菌中CRISPR/Cas系统介导的适应性免疫机制研究。该技术利用特异性向导RNA识别靶点基因,引导核酸内切酶Cas9对其切割,并通过同源重组或非同源末端连接完成对目的 DNA的编辑。某些病毒感染机体后,可将其基因组整合到宿主细胞基因组中或潜伏于组织中而无法被彻底清除,从而引起持续性感染。本文参考2013年以来CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术的最新相关研究报道,重点综述其在人类免疫缺陷病毒1型(human immunodeficiency virus type 1,HIV-1)、人乳头瘤病毒(human papillomavirus,HPV)、乙型肝炎病毒(hepatitis B virus,HBV)、Epstein-Barr病毒(Epstein-Barr virus,EBV)等致瘤病毒感染相关疾病研究中的应用,并概括其作用于这些病毒的有效靶点。展开更多
Chimeric antigen receptor T(CAR-T)cell therapy is the novel treatment strategy for hematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL),lymphoma and multiple myeloma.However,treatment-related toxicitie...Chimeric antigen receptor T(CAR-T)cell therapy is the novel treatment strategy for hematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL),lymphoma and multiple myeloma.However,treatment-related toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome(CRS)and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome(ICANS)have become significant hurdles to CAR-T treatment.Multiple strategies were established to alter the CAR structure on the genomic level to improve efficacy and reduce toxicities.Recently,the innovative gene-editing technology-clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease9(Cas9)system,which particularly exhibits preponderance in knock-in and knockout at specific sites,is widely utilized to manufacture CAR-T products.The application of CRISPR/Cas9 to CAR-T cell therapy has shown promising clinical results with minimal toxicity.In this review,we summarized the past achievements of CRISPR/Cas9 in CAR-T therapy and focused on the potential CAR-T targets.展开更多
This review chronicles the development of the research on CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR associated protein 9) during the last 30 years from the discovery of CRISPR sequen...This review chronicles the development of the research on CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR associated protein 9) during the last 30 years from the discovery of CRISPR sequence, of biological significance and of the molecular mechanism for adaptive bacterial immunity. It describes recent works on structural and functional diversity of CRISPR/Cas systems, and on three-dimensional structure-based improvements of on-target specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 and Cpf1 endonucleases. The review ends with the application of CRISPR/Cas9 to targeted editing of plant genomes. Importantly, plant commodities modified by CRISPR-Cas9 have not been considered as genetically modified organisms (GMO) as long as foreign DNAs from plant pests were not introduced, according to the recent determination by the USDA.展开更多
The genome editing tool,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/Cas9 system,has achieved successful therapeutic efficacy via precise modification of the genome and exceeded previous genome en...The genome editing tool,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/Cas9 system,has achieved successful therapeutic efficacy via precise modification of the genome and exceeded previous genome engineering methods owing to its versatility and simplicity.Rapid expansion in biomedical research has benefited from this newly emerged technique,such as genetic diseases treatment,cancer characterization,and plant improvement.However,the key challenge is efficient delivery of CRISPR components in vivo and nanotechnology plays an in dispensable role in non viral gene delivery.In this review,we will first briefly describe the mechanism and delivery strategies of CRISPR/Cas9 system.Furthermore,the past and current researches of nan oparticles based CRISPR/Cas9 system delivery for genome editi ng will be highlighted.Fin ally,we will discuss the challe nges and prospects of CRISPR/Cas9 system combi ned with nano tech no logy for clinical translation in the future.展开更多
成簇规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR‑associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因编辑技术是一种能够通过DNA剪接而治疗多种疾病的基因编辑系统。该技术具...成簇规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR‑associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因编辑技术是一种能够通过DNA剪接而治疗多种疾病的基因编辑系统。该技术具有灵活简单、高效的优势,更重要的是能够同时编辑多个基因。近年来已经广泛应用于各个领域,在心血管领域中也取得了极大的进步。文章综述了CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术在心血管疾病研究中的应用进展,总结和列举基于CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术在心血管疾病预防和治疗中的应用,为心血管疾病治疗开创新方法提供参考。展开更多
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated(Cas)systems are becoming powerful tools for disease biomarkers detection.Due to the specific recognition,cis-cleavage and nonspecific...Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated(Cas)systems are becoming powerful tools for disease biomarkers detection.Due to the specific recognition,cis-cleavage and nonspecific trans-cleavage capabilities,CRISPR/Cas systems have implemented the detection of nucleic acid targets(DNA and RNA)as well as non-nucleic acid targets(e.g.,proteins,exosomes,cells,and small molecules).In this review,we first summarize the principles and characteristics of various CRISPR/Cas systems,including CRISPR/Cas9,Cas12,Cas13 and Cas14 systems.Then,various types of applications of CRISPR/Cas systems used in detecting nucleic and non-nucleic acid targets are introduced emphatically.Finally,the prospects and challenges of their applications in biosensing are discussed.展开更多
Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 alpha(HNF1A),hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha(HNF4A),and forkhead box protein A2(FOXA2)are key transcription factors that regulate a complex gene network in the liver,cre-ating a regulator...Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 alpha(HNF1A),hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha(HNF4A),and forkhead box protein A2(FOXA2)are key transcription factors that regulate a complex gene network in the liver,cre-ating a regulatory transcriptional loop.The Encode and ChIP-Atlas databases identify the recognition sites of these transcription factors in many glycosyltransferase genes.Our in silico analysis of HNF1A,HNF4A.and FOXA2 binding to the ten candidate glyco-genes studied in this work confirms a significant enrich-ment of these transcription factors specifically in the liver.Our previous studies identified HNF1A as a master regulator of fucosylation,glycan branching,and galactosylation of plasma glycoproteins.Here,we aimed to functionally validate the role of the three transcription factors on downstream glyco-gene transcriptional expression and the possible effect on glycan phenotype.We used the state-of-the-art clus-tered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/dead Cas9(CRISPR/dCas9)molecular tool for the downregulation of the HNF1A,HNF4A,and FOXA2 genes in HepG2 cells-a human liver cancer cell line.The results show that the downregulation of all three genes individually and in pairs affects the transcrip-tional activity of many glyco-genes,although downregulation of glyco-genes was not always followed by an unambiguous change in the corresponding glycan structures.The effect is better seen as an overall change in the total HepG2 N-glycome,primarily due to the extension of biantennary glycans.We propose an alternative way to evaluate the N-glycome composition via estimating the overall complexity of the glycome by quantifying the number of monomers in each glycan structure.We also propose a model showing feedback loops with the mutual activation of HNF1A-FOXA2 and HNF4A-FOXA2 affecting glyco-genes and protein glycosylation in HepG2 cells.展开更多
Since it was first recognized in bacteria and archaea as a mechanism for innate viral immunity in the early 2010 s,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein(Cas)has ra...Since it was first recognized in bacteria and archaea as a mechanism for innate viral immunity in the early 2010 s,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein(Cas)has rapidly been developed into a robust,multifunctional genome editing tool with many uses.Following the discovery of the initial CRISPR/Cas-based system,the technology has been advanced to facilitate a multitude of different functions.These include development as a base editor,prime editor,epigenetic editor,and CRISPR interference(CRISPRi)and CRISPR activator(CRISPRa)gene regulators.It can also be used for chromatin and RNA targeting and imaging.Its applications have proved revolutionary across numerous biological fields,especially in biomedical and agricultural improvement.As a diagnostic tool,CRISPR has been developed to aid the detection and screening of both human and plant diseases,and has even been applied during the current coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic.CRISPR/Cas is also being trialed as a new form of gene therapy for treating various human diseases,including cancers,and has aided drug development.In terms of agricultural breeding,precise targeting of biological pathways via CRISPR/Cas has been key to regulating molecular biosynthesis and allowing modification of proteins,starch,oil,and other functional components for crop improvement.Adding to this,CRISPR/Cas has been shown capable of significantly enhancing both plant tolerance to environmental stresses and overall crop yield via the targeting of various agronomically important gene regulators.Looking to the future,increasing the efficiency and precision of CRISPR/Cas delivery systems and limiting off-target activity are two major challenges for wider application of the technology.This review provides an in-depth overview of current CRISPR development,including the advantages and disadvantages of the technology,recent applications,and future considerations.展开更多
文摘成簇规则间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)技术目前广泛应用于生命医学领域的基础研究及临床应用研究。由于载体在CRISPR/Cas9技术中发挥了重要的作用,如何进一步开发和优化载体系统具有重要的意义。传统的载体大多以病毒载体为主,其递送的效率高,但亦存在插入片段的大小有限、免疫反应、致癌、难以大规模生产甚至脱靶等缺陷;而非病毒纳米载体在一定程度上可解决基因编辑过程中由病毒载体所带来的潜在毒性和容量限制等问题,可能具有更广阔的应用前景。本文主要综述了目前用于CRISPR/Cas9系统递送的非病毒纳米载体,探讨了非病毒纳米载体在递送CRISPR/Cas9系统时可能遇到的主要困难,提出了相应的解决方案和策略,以期为基因治疗和药物研发提供新的参考依据。
文摘规律间隔成簇短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因编辑技术作为一项基因工程领域革新式的技术,为癌症、遗传性疾病及感染性疾病等多种重大疾病的治疗提供了极大的帮助.但如何在特定细胞和组织中实现时空调控的精准基因编辑,进而避免脱靶效应,依然是该技术在临床转化领域面临的重要挑战.近年来,通过化学分子和反应实现对CRISPR/Cas9活性的调控已经成为提升这项基因编辑技术效率的重要手段之一.本文综合评述了一些最近报道的化学调控CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑的方法,并对其在临床医学领域的应用前景进行了展望.
文摘成簇的规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9〔clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9),CRISPR/Cas9〕是一种新兴的基因编辑技术,与以前的三大基因编辑技术——归巢核酸内切酶、锌指核酸酶和转录激活因子样效应物核酸酶技术相比,其在靶向特异性、操作简便性、治疗彻底性、应用广泛性等方面具有更大的优势和发展潜力。艾滋病、乙型肝炎、疟疾等感染性疾病的治疗一直是医学上的重大难题,科学家正努力尝试利用CRISPR/Cas9技术解决这些医学难题。本文主要综述了CRISPR/Cas9技术在这些感染性疾病中应用的研究进展。
文摘成簇的规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9〔clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9),CRISPR/Cas9〕基因编辑技术的发现源于真细菌和古细菌中CRISPR/Cas系统介导的适应性免疫机制研究。该技术利用特异性向导RNA识别靶点基因,引导核酸内切酶Cas9对其切割,并通过同源重组或非同源末端连接完成对目的 DNA的编辑。某些病毒感染机体后,可将其基因组整合到宿主细胞基因组中或潜伏于组织中而无法被彻底清除,从而引起持续性感染。本文参考2013年以来CRISPR/Cas9基因组编辑技术的最新相关研究报道,重点综述其在人类免疫缺陷病毒1型(human immunodeficiency virus type 1,HIV-1)、人乳头瘤病毒(human papillomavirus,HPV)、乙型肝炎病毒(hepatitis B virus,HBV)、Epstein-Barr病毒(Epstein-Barr virus,EBV)等致瘤病毒感染相关疾病研究中的应用,并概括其作用于这些病毒的有效靶点。
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81230014,No.81470341,No.81520108002 and No.81500157)the Key Project of Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province(No.2018C03016-2)the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province(No.2019C03016).
文摘Chimeric antigen receptor T(CAR-T)cell therapy is the novel treatment strategy for hematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL),lymphoma and multiple myeloma.However,treatment-related toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome(CRS)and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome(ICANS)have become significant hurdles to CAR-T treatment.Multiple strategies were established to alter the CAR structure on the genomic level to improve efficacy and reduce toxicities.Recently,the innovative gene-editing technology-clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease9(Cas9)system,which particularly exhibits preponderance in knock-in and knockout at specific sites,is widely utilized to manufacture CAR-T products.The application of CRISPR/Cas9 to CAR-T cell therapy has shown promising clinical results with minimal toxicity.In this review,we summarized the past achievements of CRISPR/Cas9 in CAR-T therapy and focused on the potential CAR-T targets.
文摘This review chronicles the development of the research on CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR associated protein 9) during the last 30 years from the discovery of CRISPR sequence, of biological significance and of the molecular mechanism for adaptive bacterial immunity. It describes recent works on structural and functional diversity of CRISPR/Cas systems, and on three-dimensional structure-based improvements of on-target specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 and Cpf1 endonucleases. The review ends with the application of CRISPR/Cas9 to targeted editing of plant genomes. Importantly, plant commodities modified by CRISPR-Cas9 have not been considered as genetically modified organisms (GMO) as long as foreign DNAs from plant pests were not introduced, according to the recent determination by the USDA.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.81673374 and 81872810)Wuhan Science and Technology Plan for Applied Fundamental Research(No.2017060201010146)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.2018KFYYXJJ019).
文摘The genome editing tool,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/Cas9 system,has achieved successful therapeutic efficacy via precise modification of the genome and exceeded previous genome engineering methods owing to its versatility and simplicity.Rapid expansion in biomedical research has benefited from this newly emerged technique,such as genetic diseases treatment,cancer characterization,and plant improvement.However,the key challenge is efficient delivery of CRISPR components in vivo and nanotechnology plays an in dispensable role in non viral gene delivery.In this review,we will first briefly describe the mechanism and delivery strategies of CRISPR/Cas9 system.Furthermore,the past and current researches of nan oparticles based CRISPR/Cas9 system delivery for genome editi ng will be highlighted.Fin ally,we will discuss the challe nges and prospects of CRISPR/Cas9 system combi ned with nano tech no logy for clinical translation in the future.
文摘成簇规律间隔的短回文重复序列及其相关蛋白9(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR‑associated protein 9,CRISPR/Cas9)基因编辑技术是一种能够通过DNA剪接而治疗多种疾病的基因编辑系统。该技术具有灵活简单、高效的优势,更重要的是能够同时编辑多个基因。近年来已经广泛应用于各个领域,在心血管领域中也取得了极大的进步。文章综述了CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术在心血管疾病研究中的应用进展,总结和列举基于CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术在心血管疾病预防和治疗中的应用,为心血管疾病治疗开创新方法提供参考。
基金This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.81771968 and 22204104)the Shanghai Sailing Program(No.21YF1444900)+3 种基金the Shanghai Municipal Natural Science Foundation(No.22ZR1459600)the Medical-Engineering Joint Funds from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University(Nos.YG2023ZD07 and YG2021QN23)the Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission(No.2022JC002)the Innovative Research Team of High-Level Local Universities in Shanghai,China.
文摘Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated(Cas)systems are becoming powerful tools for disease biomarkers detection.Due to the specific recognition,cis-cleavage and nonspecific trans-cleavage capabilities,CRISPR/Cas systems have implemented the detection of nucleic acid targets(DNA and RNA)as well as non-nucleic acid targets(e.g.,proteins,exosomes,cells,and small molecules).In this review,we first summarize the principles and characteristics of various CRISPR/Cas systems,including CRISPR/Cas9,Cas12,Cas13 and Cas14 systems.Then,various types of applications of CRISPR/Cas systems used in detecting nucleic and non-nucleic acid targets are introduced emphatically.Finally,the prospects and challenges of their applications in biosensing are discussed.
基金the European Structural and Invest-ment Funded Grant"CardioMetabolic"(#KK.01.2.1.02.0321)the Croatian National Centre of Research Excellence in Personalized Healthcare Grant(#KK.01.1.1.01.0010)+2 种基金the European Regional Development Fund Grant,project"CRISPR/Cas9-CasMouse"(#KK.01.1.1.04.0085)the European Structural and Investment Funded Project of Centre of Competence in Molecular Diagnostics(#KK.01.2.2.03.0006)the Croatian National Centre of Research Excellence in Personalized Healthcare Grant(#KK.01.1.1.01.0010).
文摘Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 alpha(HNF1A),hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha(HNF4A),and forkhead box protein A2(FOXA2)are key transcription factors that regulate a complex gene network in the liver,cre-ating a regulatory transcriptional loop.The Encode and ChIP-Atlas databases identify the recognition sites of these transcription factors in many glycosyltransferase genes.Our in silico analysis of HNF1A,HNF4A.and FOXA2 binding to the ten candidate glyco-genes studied in this work confirms a significant enrich-ment of these transcription factors specifically in the liver.Our previous studies identified HNF1A as a master regulator of fucosylation,glycan branching,and galactosylation of plasma glycoproteins.Here,we aimed to functionally validate the role of the three transcription factors on downstream glyco-gene transcriptional expression and the possible effect on glycan phenotype.We used the state-of-the-art clus-tered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/dead Cas9(CRISPR/dCas9)molecular tool for the downregulation of the HNF1A,HNF4A,and FOXA2 genes in HepG2 cells-a human liver cancer cell line.The results show that the downregulation of all three genes individually and in pairs affects the transcrip-tional activity of many glyco-genes,although downregulation of glyco-genes was not always followed by an unambiguous change in the corresponding glycan structures.The effect is better seen as an overall change in the total HepG2 N-glycome,primarily due to the extension of biantennary glycans.We propose an alternative way to evaluate the N-glycome composition via estimating the overall complexity of the glycome by quantifying the number of monomers in each glycan structure.We also propose a model showing feedback loops with the mutual activation of HNF1A-FOXA2 and HNF4A-FOXA2 affecting glyco-genes and protein glycosylation in HepG2 cells.
基金supported in part by Cotton Incorporated and the National Science Foundation(award 1658709)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31700316)+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Nonprofit Scientific Institution(No.1610172018009)the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province(No.2018CFB543),China。
文摘Since it was first recognized in bacteria and archaea as a mechanism for innate viral immunity in the early 2010 s,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein(Cas)has rapidly been developed into a robust,multifunctional genome editing tool with many uses.Following the discovery of the initial CRISPR/Cas-based system,the technology has been advanced to facilitate a multitude of different functions.These include development as a base editor,prime editor,epigenetic editor,and CRISPR interference(CRISPRi)and CRISPR activator(CRISPRa)gene regulators.It can also be used for chromatin and RNA targeting and imaging.Its applications have proved revolutionary across numerous biological fields,especially in biomedical and agricultural improvement.As a diagnostic tool,CRISPR has been developed to aid the detection and screening of both human and plant diseases,and has even been applied during the current coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic.CRISPR/Cas is also being trialed as a new form of gene therapy for treating various human diseases,including cancers,and has aided drug development.In terms of agricultural breeding,precise targeting of biological pathways via CRISPR/Cas has been key to regulating molecular biosynthesis and allowing modification of proteins,starch,oil,and other functional components for crop improvement.Adding to this,CRISPR/Cas has been shown capable of significantly enhancing both plant tolerance to environmental stresses and overall crop yield via the targeting of various agronomically important gene regulators.Looking to the future,increasing the efficiency and precision of CRISPR/Cas delivery systems and limiting off-target activity are two major challenges for wider application of the technology.This review provides an in-depth overview of current CRISPR development,including the advantages and disadvantages of the technology,recent applications,and future considerations.
